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Kershaw, Puig, Greinke, Dee named All-Stars

Dee Gordon, Zack Grienke, Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig were selected to the National League All-Star team

By Ken Gurnick
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MLB.com |

DENVER -- Led by defending National League Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw and starting outfielder Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers had four players named to the NL All-Star team on Sunday.

Puig was voted onto the starting lineup by the fans as one of three outfielders. Starting pitcher Zack Greinke was a manager's selection, while rotation-mate Kershaw and second baseman Dee Gordon were picked by the players.

It will be Kershaw's fourth consecutive All-Star appearance, Greinke's second honor since 2009 and the first All-Star appearances for Puig and Gordon.

The last time the Dodgers had two starting pitchers on the same All-Star team was 1991 (Ramon Martinez and Mike Morgan). They last had as many as four All-Stars in 2010 (Andre Ethier, Jonathan Broxton, Rafael Furcal and Hong-Chih Kuo). The last time they had five All-Stars was 1995 (Raul Mondesi, Hideo Nomo, Jose Offerman, Mike Piazza and Todd Worrell).

Gordon -- displaced at shortstop by Hanley Ramirez two years ago only to resurrect his career at second base after a trial in the outfield -- becomes the first home-grown Dodgers infield All-Star since Offerman in 1995 and the first homegrown All-Star second baseman since Steve Sax in 1986.

"I almost cried when Donnie [Mattingly] told me," said Gordon, son of former All-Star pitcher Tom Gordon. "My dad took me to three All-Star Games. Now I can take him to one."

Puig, who lost the final vote election last year after spending barely a month in the Major Leagues, finished ahead of fourth-place Giancarlo Stanton, despite a homerless June.

"I'm happy, obviously, and I appreciate all the support from my teammates and the fans that voted for me," said Puig. "I thank the coaches and my teammates. I'm happy with the way I played the first half of the season."

"Both guys took different roads," Mattingly said of Gordon and Puig. "Dee went back and forth, he battled, changed positions, fought his way back. And Yasiel, his story [a harrowing journey out of Cuba and into a $42 million contract] is incredible."

Kershaw, who has won two NL Cy Young Awards but never started an All-Star Game, said he would be honored to start this one if selected by NL manager Mike Matheny, who can also choose from his ace, Adam Wainwright.

"Yeah, sure, I'd love to do it," said Kershaw, who has a streak of 36 consecutive scoreless innings. "There's a ton of great candidates. I'll be fine either way."

Clearly, Kershaw has not become jaded even though he's a perennial All-Star pick.

"It's a huge honor," he said. "I'm always really excited to get to do it. Going with four Dodgers is pretty cool. I love it. It's not a goal, but to play with the game's best, to associate with those guys, I hope I never take it for granted. It's pretty awesome."

Immediately following the announcement of the American League and National League All-Star rosters on July 6, fans began voting to select the final player for each League's 34-man roster via the 2014 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Experian. Fans can cast their votes from a list of five players from each League until the winners will be announced after the voting concludes on Thursday, July 10.

And the voting doesn't end. The final phase of All-Star Game voting will again have fans participating in the voting for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. During the Midsummer Classic, fans will vote exclusively online at MLB.com and via Twitter in the 2014 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote Sponsored by Pepsi, and their collective voice will represent 20 percent of the overall vote that determines the recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy.

MLB.TV Premium subscribers, for the first time, will be able to live stream the All-Star Game via MLB.TV through FOX's participating video providers. Access will be available across more than 400 support MLB.TV platforms, including the award-winning MLB.com At Bat app. MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage of the All-Star Week festivities.

The 85th All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 200 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.

Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.